The Scarlet & Violet Pokémon Era is Over

Welcome to the Mega era.

On August 1st, 2025, the Japanese market receives the first 2 sets of the post-Scarlet & Violet era: Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia, featuring Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex.

These new sets are the first to carry the set codes starting with “M”, instead of “SV”, indicating that these new “Mega” sets are truly the first in a new TCG block.

Pokémon has typically started a new block every 3 years with the release of each mainline Pokémon game. But, this block is expected to be a “Mini” block: one that only lasts a year instead of the usual 3 year cycle.

Although this is a bit odd, it’s not unexpected: with The Pokémon Company choosing to take an extra year to develop the next mainline Pokémon video game, they would either have to extend the Scarlet & Violet TCG block by an extra year, or find another way to fill the time.

These new sets, featuring the Mega Evolution Pokémon, are based on the Pokémon Legends Z-A game releasing towards the end of this year.

The question is:

Is this a good thing for collectors and investors?

And the truth is, it’s hard to say… but perhaps the release of the Scarlet & Violet block in early 2023 can give us some clues.

Because, if anything, a new block is also a time of changes.

When Scarlet & Violet released, the new era didn’t just bring back ex cards, it brought a new level of print volumes to the market. The reaction was slow: it took a couple months for the market to realize just how much of the Scarlet & Violet base set booster boxes were printed.

But, by November 2023, about 7 months after the release of the set, reality had taken hold: Scarlet & Violet base booster boxes reached a market price of about $70: a massive fall from the now higher MSRP price of $160.

In today’s booming Pokémon market, the market continues is under-supplied: The Pokémon Company isn’t printing enough to go around, and prices on secondary markets are high.

Although there are some signs that supply of new sets has been increasing, we have not seen a large enough increase to fully satisfy the market demand. And the question is: why?

This is pure speculation but, given the large increase in supply we saw at the beginning of the Scarlet & Violet block, is it possible The Pokémon Company International is focusing any increase in supply on the new Mega era, kicking off later this year?

Only time will tell, but a new block does create an opportunity for change and it wouldn’t be the first time we see The Pokémon Company take advantage of that opportunity.

Anything can happen, so be careful out there.

As usual,

Thank you so much for reading the TCG Buyers Club newsletter. My name’s Grey, I buy cardboard, and I’m on a mission to make collecting and investing in Pokémon simple.

Cheers 🍻

P.S. I don’t have much to add this week, but I appreciate you for reading the entire letter and continuing to subscribe. If there’s anything I can do to make this newsletter even better, don’t hesitate to reply and let me know: I read every one. Thank you!